Complete Guide To The Santa Ana Volcano Hike 2024 • Passport Pilgrimage

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Welcome To The Santa Ana Volcano (Ilamatepec)

This is the complete guide to the stunning Santa Ana Volcano Hike in El Salvador. We’ll cover everything you need to know before your visit to make your experience as enjoyable and seamless as possible. From how to get there to the difficulty to what to pack, we’ve got you covered!

Also known as Volcán Ilamatepec, the Santa Ana Volcano has a beautiful crater lake in its center. The turquoise sulfur lake is a stark contrast to the various shades of volcanic rock that surrounds it. The volcano is located in Cerro Verde National Park, so while the volcano has a rocky and dry climate, you’ll have views of lush green rainforests.

The hike to the top is fairly easy, and is a 4.35 mile (7 km) round trip hike. It can take anywhere between 2 and 4 hours, depending on how speedy your group is, and how long you spend at the top. The volcano is active, and you’ll be able to smell the sulfur and see the steaming lake below. This reminded us of Mount Ijen in Indonesia, except the smell of sulfur atop the Santa Ana Volcano is definitely not bad enough to need a gas mask! Let’s get into this comprehensive guide to the Santa Ana Volcano hike!

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How to Get to the Santa Ana Volcano

How to Get to the Santa Ana Volcano from Santa Ana

By Tour: There are a few tour operators who pick you up at your accommodation, take you to and from the volcano, and even add Lake Coatepeque and other activities to your tour. We recommend asking your hotel or hostel if they know of any tours and can help you plan this!

Car/Moped Rental: Renting a car or moped will give you the most flexibility, as you can have reliable transport and not have to worry about leaving too early or staying too late.

By Public Bus: This takes around 2 hours from Santa Ana and leaves from La Vencedora at 7:30 am, costs $0.70, and will drop you off right at the trailhead. We recommend getting there at 7:20 to get your ticket. The same bus arrives at the volcano hike trailhead between 1-1:30 pm and 4-4:30 pm and heads back to Santa Ana from there.

How to Get to the Santa Ana Volcano from San Salvador

If you’re coming from San Salvador, we recommend renting a car or going as part of this tour (which also includes a stop at Lake Coatepeque!). If those are not valid options and you can only take public transportation, take the ~1.5 hour bus (#201) to Santa Ana leaving from Occidente Bus Terminal at 4:50 am. Then follow the instructions above for how to get from Santa Ana to the Volcano. However, if the #201 bus doesn’t leave before 6:00 am, it would be almost impossible to get to the Volcano from San Salvador via public transportation without spending a night in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana Volcano Hike Details

After getting to the Santa Ana Volcano trailhead, the tour guides will begin herding you into the waiting area. From here you’ll either wait for more people to get there and join your group or get going after a short speech. If you have enough time you can grab pupusas at one of the stands across the street!

The guides will give a short overview of what to expect and rules for the hike. This is in Spanish so if you don’t understand they essentially say “No cigarettes, beers, weapons, speakers, pets, littering, and stay with your group, at least on the way up”. You can leave your bigger bags in the tour guides’ office if you don’t want to bring them on the hike. There are bathrooms here for $0.40 but there are free bathrooms at the official entrance a 15-minute hike away.

You’ll pay your guide fee of $3.50 and hike the 15 minutes through the jungle to get to the Oficina de Medio Ambiente, where you’ll pay the $6 park entry fee. The dense jungle climate continues for another 15 minutes before it starts opening up.

The beautiful desert-type climate means you’re also in the sun, so hiking is a little harder from here. You’ll have beautiful views of the surrounding nature, Lake Coatepeque and Volcán Izalco.

Did You Know: Volcán Izalco has the nickname “lighthouse of the pacific” because it erupted continuously for almost 200 years up until 1958, and ships would use this as a landmark for when they were passing El Salvador.

The rest of the hike up took our group around 1.5 hours, (so 2 hours in total) although it can definitely be done quicker, dependent on your group. The top is absolutely beautiful, but it is extremely steep and the rock is loose, so stay away from these cliffs!

We desperately wanted to go to Lake Coatepeque, which meant catching the 1:30 pm bus, so we didn’t stay at the top long, and ran (when we could) down the mountain! Our descent took us 1 hour, but it probably could be done in 30 minutes if there were less people.

Adding Lake Coatepeque To Your Itinerary

Since the Santa Ana Volcano is so close to Lake Coatepeque, combining the two activities makes for the perfect day trip. You’ll definitely want to take a dip after hiking the volcano!

The lakefront is almost completely privatized, so you will likely have to pay for a day pass at one of the hotels or restaurants, or eat and order drinks there. We went to Captain Morgan Hostel which was absolutely amazing! They have a ~6 meter platform to jump off of, jet ski rentals for $70/hour, and tiki or boat cruises for $100/hour. Alternatively, you can opt to simply relax at one of their many seating areas!

How To Get From Santa Ana Volcano To Lake Coatepeque By Chicken Bus

Take the same bus (#248) that goes back to Santa Ana but get off after 45 minutes at the fork in the road in El Congo. From here, you can hitchhike or pay $0.50 to go in the back of a pick up truck to your lakefront destination.

Pro Tip: There are fruit stands at the fork in the road where you can buy 8 bananas for only $1!!!

How To Get From Lake Coatepeque To Santa Ana By Chicken Bus

You can either hitchhike back or wait for the Santa Ana – Los Planes bus, which passed by the Captain Morgan Hostel at 4:05 pm. This bus only took us to El Congo as it was done for the day and cost $0.45. Then we took Ruta 59 bus for $0.30 to Santa Ana which left at 4:40 pm from here.

Alternatively, from the north side of the lake, you can also take the 220 or 242 bus back to Santa Ana. We were on the west side of the lake so didn’t see these buses.

Cost of Santa Ana Volcano Hike

$0.70 for the bus to the volcano
$3.50 for guides
$6 for entry Cerro Verde National Park
$0.70 for the bus to Santa Ana or El Congo (it’s same price no matter when you get off)

Total Cost of the Santa Ana Volcano Hike: $10.90 Per Person

Cost of Adding Lake Coatepeque To Your Itinerary

We didn’t pay these exact numbers due to hitchhiking and Captain Morgan Hostel not charging us for the 1.5 hours we were there. Different properties will give different rates for a day pass/not charge you if you eat a meal there. However this is what you can generally expect to pay if you visit Lake Coatepeque after the Santa Ana Volcano hike:

$0.50 to rickshaw to the lake (or hitchhike)
$5 for a Day Pass at Captain Morgan Hostel
$0.45 for the bus to El Congo (or hitchhike) or $0.50 to rickshaw to El Congo
$0.30 for the bus to Santa Ana

Total Cost of adding Lake Coatepeque: ~$6.30 Per Person

What To Pack For The Santa Ana Volcano Hike

Shoes with good traction: The loose rocks towards the top claimed a few victims on our hike! For hiking, we recommend this pair of Salomon’s for men and this pair or Jack Wolfskin’s for women.
Snacks: You may be in a rush and not have time to get pupusas at the trailhead.
Bug Spray: The first 30 minutes of the hike is through the jungle, where mosquitoes thrive!
Lots of Sunscreen: You’ll be exposed to the sun the majority of the hike.
Water: The guides recommended bringing at least one liter of water per person.
Bathing Suit and Towel: If you may want to go to Lake Coatepeque afterwards, make sure to come prepared!

How Difficult is the Santa Ana Volcano Hike?

The Santa Ana Volcano hike is fairly easy, especially if you hike often or are in decent shape. There were definitely parts that were slippery on the way down, but if you go slow you should be fine. Although it took our group 2 hours to summit, it can definitely be done in closer to 1 hour. This is nowhere near as hard as the Acatenango hike in Guatemala, so if you’ve done that or regularly hike, this should be extremely easy for you.

Best Time to Visit the Santa Ana Volcano

The best time of year to visit the Santa Ana Volcano is between November and April, which is El Salvador’s dry season. During the wet season, you’re more likely to have stormy weather, and the hike can get cancelled. Your views may also be obstructed by cloudy weather, which may put a damper on your trip!

The best time of day to visit is as early as possible, which is 8 am. This is because you will avoid crowds, escape the heat, and have more time to go to Lake Coatepeque or whatever else you want to do with your day!

Is the Santa Ana Volcano Hike Safe?

While the volcano is active, it is currently safe to hike. In 2005 it fully erupted, shooting out rocks weighing more than 1 ton. It had previously erupted in 1904, so it isn’t overdue for another 100 years. If it is unsafe on any given day, you won’t be allowed to hike it or even enter the general area.

While looking into the Santa Ana Volcano hike you may have come across mentions of robberies. However, this doesn’t happen nowadays and can only possibly happen to you if you sneak past security, don’t go with a guide, and somehow come across a thief who also snuck in. There were a few hundred other tourists on this hike and two police officers at the top of the volcano.

Do you Need a Guide for the Santa Ana Volcano Hike?

You are required to go with a guide that basically just keeps the group together so no one wanders off. The downside to this is you have to wait for everyone in your group (which is around 40 people). On the way down, this is more lenient as the guides understand that people have buses to catch.

Is the Santa Ana Volcano Hike worth it?

Absolutely! The turqouise sulfur lake surrounded by multi-colored rock, as well as the views along the way make this a great activity for everyone’s El Salvador itinerary. The hike being easy makes this something that everyone can enjoy!

Keep Exploring El Salvador…

Our Favorite Travel Resources

Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.

Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.

Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.

Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.

International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.

eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.

Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!

Your Complete Guide To The Santa Ana Volcano Hike